Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial health in rheumatic patients: A longitudinal study

Aim

To describe the impact of the COVID-19 on the psychosocial health of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondyloarthritis (SpA), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Design

Longitudinal observational study of a series of patients with rheumatic disease.

Methods

The main outcome measure was impairment of the ability to participate in social activities, as measured using the PROMIS-APS instrument Short Form-8a. We evaluated social activities in various settings and performed a multivariate analysis to study the association between worsening of social participation during the COVID-19 pandemic and implicated factors.

Results

One hundred and twenty-five patients had completed the prospective follow-up: 40 with AR (32%), 42 with SpA (33.6%), and 43 with SLE (34.4%). Overall, poorer mean PROMIS scores were recorded after the COVID-19 pandemic for: satisfaction with social roles (p = 0.029), depression (p = 0.039), and ability to participate in social activities (p = 0.024). The factors associated with ability to participate in social activities after the COVID-19 pandemic were older age (β = −0.215; p = 0.012), diagnosis of SLE (β = −0.203; p = 0.015), depression (β = −0.295; p = 0.003) and satisfaction with social roles (β = 0.211; p = 0.037).

Conclusion

The ability to participate in social activities after the COVID-19 pandemic is affected in patients with rheumatic disease, especially in SLE.